Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT) in New Haven and Children”™s Learning Centers of Fairfield County in Stamford have been named as the 2020 Bank of America Neighborhood Builders® awardees for southern Connecticut. The nonprofits were selected for their work in this area addressing issues fundamental to economic mobility, specifically by providing job-training programs to the unemployed and underemployed and ensuring that children have access to early education programs.
As an awardee, each organization receives a $200,000 grant, a year of leadership training for the executive director and an emerging leader, a network of peer organizations across the U.S., and the opportunity to access capital to expand their impact. Since 2004, Bank of America has invested more than $260 million in 50 communities through Neighborhood Builders, partnering with more than 1,300 nonprofits and helping more than 2,600 nonprofit leaders strengthen their leadership skills.
“The health crisis continues to underscore the need for the educational and job-retraining programs provided by our 2020 Neighborhood Builders, the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology and Children”™s Learning Centers of Fairfield County,” said Bill Tommins, southern Connecticut market president for Bank of America.
“America”™s early childhood system was fragile and operated on razor-thin margins prior to the pandemic. Now extended closures and increased operating costs due to Covid-19 coupled with reduced capacity is pushing the early childhood system that working parents rely on, to the brink of collapse,” said Marc Jaffe, CEO of Children”™s Learning Centers. “The Neighborhood Builders grant will have a tremendous impact on CLC and the children we serve and will allow us to continue our mission. Thank you, Bank of America, for your partnership.”
